IAMPETH in Omaha

 This is a very special week for my dear IAMPETH family. If the world was back to normal, I would be walking up and down the halls of the hotel, doing tons of shopping at Paper and Ink arts and reconnecting with precious friends who brought this introvert out of her shell and helped hone her ability to teach. IAMEPTH has my heart and soul. With the current COVID restrictions still closing the land border between Canada and US, I have had to stay home. I am still teaching my Flowering Flourish class for my precious students through a special webcam and live stream method into the classroom. So my heart is at ease that way. For all of you who have inquired, I sent pens ahead to the Conference and they will be at Paper and Ink Arts where Ann and Terry Cobb will be overseeing the sale of my pens.  But the special moments where I get to visit my dear friends, share a meal, have breakfast with Bob Hurford and go for long walks with dear friends will be missing this week.  Sending hugs and love to all those there.

These past 18 months have been so trying in so many ways. We have all made tremendous sacrifices and seen so many disruptions. One of the lessons I have learned over these months is to really look at what is wonderful in your life and cherish those things with a wholeheartedly,. Be mindfully aware of even the smallest things that bring you joy. Pause and reflect and cherish the special moments. I have had the incredible pleasure of being able to teach online with lots of private students as well as larger groups. I have been able to watch skills get coaxed to a higher level and I am dumbfounded by the progress I see in the students. The joy that come out of flourishing, gilding, writing or drawing letters really is so inspiriting to me. I will update later this month with more news about my Fall classes. I will be teaching Italian Hand through Acorn Arts online, Fascinating Flourishes and The Luminous Letter through Ardington School and another more advanced holiday flourishing class through The Gentle Penman.   I will feature each of these courses separately as blog posts later on so you know a bit more of what will be offered. Lots to do and lots coming up. Whatever your first week of August looks like from your part of the world, I hope you find moments of joy that you can cherish!! Sending hugs and much love all around. The last photo on this blog post is sweet little Juniper Jumper. I have watched this baby rabbit grow in my back yard.  He has been eating clover and dandelion weeds ad the occasional flower. I am taking tons of photos so I can paint him in one of my miniature illuminations. Happy August dear friends. 

July is Watercolour Month

I hope you are all having a beautiful summer so far. I was blessed to have some roses bloom in my garden this year, but my parents' garden has been filled with blooms.

Whenever I stop by, my Dad rushes outside to cut me some roses to take home. The cut roses fade quickly but I cherish the blooms. Many of you know that I spent 18 years in the floral industry. I don't regard flowers as a luxury, or something to be saved for sacred occasions. I see them as a necessity. They accompany us for so many of our special moments but they also bring such joy and charm to your surroundings. They bloom for us and wait to be noticed. This morning as I posted a watercolour painting to Instagram, I saw that July is watercolour month. I had never heard of watercolour month but thought I would make a quick blog post about the wonders of watercolour. The world of watercolour is vast. They are so versatile but can be overwhelming to a newcomer. I have taken several botanical watercolour courses over the past few years to help me explore watercolour as well as my love of flowers. One of the best online courses I have found is Billy Showell's watercolour school. You can choose a membership either monthly, bi-annually or yearly and her tutorials are wonderful. I have learned so much from her techniques.She has several books but the most comprehensive book I have found is Botanical Painting for Watercolour. The basics of many techniques are explored with beautiful illustrations.

The American Society of Botanical Artists have also produced a beautiful guide. This book is wonderful. The tutorials can be explored as individual lessons or you can read the book cover to cover. You can start anywhere in this book. There is the potential to go through each chapter as a mini study and learn so many lessons. Beyond watercolour, this book gives advice about drawing, working on vellum, using egg tempera and even silverpoint. It is a beautiful book. 

My newest acquisition to my bookshelf is Colours of Nature by Sandrine Maugy. This is a beautiful book  explaining the properties of various pigments alongside explanations of her painting techniques and projects. I have been reading each page with  interest as the author really wants you to understand watercolour and how to get the best results from your paint box and avoid common pitfalls.

My own preference for studying watercolour came from the desire to add  florals to my calligraphic work. I wanted to combine image and text. But as I started to study botanical watercolour, I realized I was drawn to it for the same reasons I am drawn to calligraphy and flourishing. I want to get into a peaceful and mindful state while working. I want to feel fully engaged with the project I am working on. When Dad cut the blooms from his rose garden, I wanted to cherish the gorgeous pink blossoms are really appreciate their beauty no matter how busy my schedule had been. When you examine a flower to draw, you hold it you hand, experience the fragrance, view it from all angles, touch the petals and really understand the subject. As you put pencil and then paint to paper, even if you can't capture all of the beauty of the flower, you will truly appreciate its complexity and the magic it has. As a florist, I handled dozens of flowers every day and in some ways, took them for granted. Now that I have to go out of my way to grow them or purchase them, I love taking mindful moments to really appreciate them. If you are new to watercolour, I encourage you to give it a try with what you have on hand. Skills with a brush and taking time to observe a subject will enhance our calligraphy. The disciplines really do merge together well. I hope you find some time to play this July....after all...it is watercolour month!!!

To Flourish is To Bloom!!!!

Later this month I will be teaching The Artful Flourish through The Gentle Penman online. I wanted to take a moment to tell you what flourishing means to me. I came onto the calligraphy scene in 2003 and it wasn't long before I heard the phrase "if you can't flourish....don't prove it." Years later, I see the humour in the quote and I understand fully what it means in terms of artwork. But flourishing is not only the curves and designs that you create on the paper, it is a mental state of flow that happens during the process.And to learn to flourish, you have to start somewhere!

Beyond that, it is a skill building technique that will enhance your other artistic pursuits. When I found the world of offhand flourishing, I quickly put many other things aside. My needlework was packed away and I left the world of floristry. But in exchange, I found a way to access the calming and peaceful effects of meditation, while working with pen and ink. It really is quite extraordinary.

Beyond that, I found a sense of confidence in my work and I wanted to share it and pass it on to others. I wrote notes of encouragement constantly and kept the post office busy. Notes and letters represented practice as well as sharing my thoughts with friends and family. Ideas for flourishes keep coming and coming. I have been playing with these flourishes for 18 years now and have never been bored with them and I still don't know whether I am really practicing or just playing! No matter what calligraphic hand I explore, I look for ways to combine it with offhand flourishing. As an artist, I can point to offhand flourishing as the skill that caused me to bloom and reach beyond the comfort zone of the introvert. It remains such a love in my life. No matter what skills you have, you can flourish. It is one hundred percent acquired skill and does not rely on any natural talent!

The two books that started me on my flourishing journey were The Ames Compendium which can be found online and Ornate Pictorial Calligraphy which is still in print. Although flourishes can look complex, they really have a very simple underlying structure. Once you understand how curves harmonize with each other, you will be well on your way. I hope you look into the world of flourishing and take time to play with pen and ink!!! There is just such a sense of delight in this world of pen and ink. Email me anytime if you have flourishing questions. Happy to help! Hugs all around. 

The Magic Of Mornings

 

These past few weeks have been busy here in the studio. I have had some late nights and some very early mornings. This July 1st morning (Happy Canada Day), I noticed so many things as I walked in the dark from the house to the studio. What looked dark to me, must have been looking light for the birds. The robins are always the first ones awake with their songs. It always sounds to me that they wake up with such a sense of cheerfulness. The studio is so quiet in the morning. It is cool enough to just open the window so I can really hear the songs of the birds and the last few drops of water flowing through the rain chain. It is too early to  hear familiar neighbourhood sounds like cars, splashes in pools or lawn mowers. It is just calm and quiet. The Rumi quote came to mind this morning: "The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you, don't go back to sleep." Although I am not a person who falls in to any sort of rigid routines, I have found that I love the quiet of these magic mornings.  I can instantly focus on the work on my desk and stay undistracted. Ideas for new projects come flooding in to my mind and I feel so inspired here in the quiet. And then, all at once, the concentration is gone and my mind shifts from my work to other tasks that will need my attention in the day. I wish there was a way to capture that magic of the morning and always be in that sense of quiet inspiration. Like anyone else, I face the same challenges for getting work done on time, keeping up with the business side of my job and juggling all of my other tasks. So finding that magic hour or two to work uninterrupted has seemed like such a gift these days. My hope for you dear friends is that you notice those special times when inspiration hits and take advantage of it. I can't always push back against the distractions that come my way, but I am working hard on singular focus rather than multitasking. If my task at hand is to clear up all of the email, then I give it my full attention. If the laundry needs folding, I try hard to do it without thinking about all of the rest of the tasks that need to be done. These are small things to tend to, but I find that I do so much better if I just tune into the task at hand. 

I will be busy teaching this month. My Victorian Frames and Labels as well as my Glittering Vines class will be coming up this week for the LegaciesIII calligraphy conference.The classes are filled and registration is closed, but if you visit the Legacies III website after the conference, I believe recordings will be available for a period of time.  If you would like to join me  live online through The Gentle Penman, as I bring my style of flourishing to you through my Artful Flourish course, I believe registration is still open. The Artful Flourish is probably the course I have taught more than any other. It keeps evolving over time but this course can teach anyone how to flourish without any pre-pencilling or planning. It is a direct result of thinking on paper and I am so excited to share it online. Learning to flourish is really what helped me to blossom and grow both personally and as an artist.

And a new teaching venue for me will be the Ardington School later this fall. I will be presenting a course based on fall themed offhand flourishes. The Ardington school has a newsletter that you can join. These classes are kept small so I can pay more attention to individual questions as the course progresses. They offer all sorts of wonderful courses including fine art and needlework for if you want to check them out. I will be doing a holiday themed illuminated letter course for Ardington in November but the listing is not yet posted. Here is just a glimpse at the letter. I hope to show you the drawing, gilding and painting of a holiday themed illuminated letter. It is a lot to pack into the course, but the class will be kept very small. I am happy to share my teaching schedule with you through email if you contact me at heather@heathervictoriaheld.com. I know some of you are taking so many courses already and I never want you to feel pressured to take a course. Always follow your instincts!!

I will close this post with an image of one of the baby foxes that have been living across the street from me all spring. We have watched a family of 10 foxes grow in our neighbourhood. Part of the magic of these early mornings has been walking to the end of the driveway to see if any of the foxes were already awake. I haven't seen any of them for a day or two, they may have moved on now, but they were the source of so much curiosity in our little neighbourhood.

Whatever sights and sounds are in your neighbourhood, I hope you look for the magic around you. Treasure the times that inspiration floods your mind no matter how brief that moment may be. I hope you have a wonderful July. Thank you for your constant encouragement through messages, photos and email. Enjoy your summer dear friends. 

Subtleties of Technique

 I usually do not post so much in a single month but I am fielding lots of questions through email about my specific techniques. I try to share this as much as possible with my students in the online and private sessions but some techniques do take a long time to develop. Pointed pen techniques are relatively easy to share and students find a lot of encouragement as they watch these skills develop rapidly on their page. Offhand flourishing is a wonderful skill to develop. Artistic skills will soar as well as your confidence and fluidity with the pen.  Colours can be added easily with coloured pencils and the flourishes look so lively on your page.

When you go beyond pen flourishes, into pen drawing you start to add to your skills and your techniques expand. Maybe touches of gold leaf gilding are added or watercolours are used instead of coloured pencils. Maybe you start to incorporate little birds or animals into your designs. The pointed pen is still used but you are also developing drawing skills along the way.  One skill leads to another. 

Keeping in mind that there is never a time line for these skills, you may want add more intricate drawings and painting skills to your work. This is where your personality can really be seen in your work and your own subtleties start to develop in your technique. As an instructor, I can guide you and share the technique that work for me but it is through he implementation of these techniques that our pathways start to separate. What works for me, the touch that I bring to the page, the colours that ignite my heart and mind, and the specific tools and supplies I use will differ from your own. Your vision and your energy will bring your designs to fruition on the page. I am currently working on a very special project. As I start to bring the images to life I reach for familiar tools and colours that I know will work. When I start to paint woodland creatures like owls, I know which colours on my palette will work. You can see the areas of browns in the image and brush knows where to reach those colours almost instinctively,

I prefer to use tube paints that dry on my palette and use a wet brush to create skins of paint on a ceramic plate. This moist/dry brush technique creates the subtleties and slow developing layers of paint that I want as I paint my illustrations. This process is labour and time intensive  but the technique  works for me. I also find that I prefer using a brush that is almost ruined for any other purpose. I reach for that well worn brush because I seem to know its mind as I work. 

These  subtleties of technique are what I encourage you to look out for in your own work. What colours on your palette are the most used? What do you do to bring that unique touch to your work? What colour combinations do you seek out? Are there patterns or styles in your culture or background that you want to bring forward into your own work? Look inward a bit as you work on personal projects. See what you can develop. Remember that instructors can share guidance with you but our true calling is to nudge you on to your own path and cheer you on as you make your discoveries. Trust your instincts. Pursue the things that you love and see what emerges on the paper.  It's ok if you fail, that is part of the path. It is expected. The owl often represents wisdom. I want to assure you that there is unique wisdom to be found as you spend time developing your techniques. You are never wasting time! Sending you all encouragement as you work on whatever it is that brings you delight. Hugs all around!

Presentation for my local Guild

 Hope you are having a wonderful June!! We have had some really warm days and I am enjoying the sights and sounds in the garden. I wanted to take a moment and let you know that I will doing an online presentation called "Petals and Pens" for my local guild on June 21st from 7:00 -9:00PM. You do not have to be a guild member to join the course. Space is limited and there is a registration fee of $25 for non-members which will go directly to the guild. Registration info is available from Carol. You can email her at carol47@bell.net or you can contact me at heather @heathervictoriaheld.com for registration info. My local guild has been a wonderful organization and I have met many life long friends through it. I am excited to offer this demonstration for them. It will mainly be my Victorian Pen etching technique. 

Sometimes, just seeing one technique is enough to launch you into a new direction!! Hope you continue to have a beautiful June!! Hugs all around!

Summer Studies

 Welcome to June dear friends. I hope you are surrounded by bright blue skies and flowering plants. My garden is waking up but it still gets quite cold here some evenings. We are still in lockdown but I am thankful that we are healthy and there is lots of work to do here at home. I just completed the Enchanted Letter course online and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share these opulent letters with you.

The large online classes have been a great way to share an overview of the techniques but there is never time enough to get into all of the details in the handouts. There have been so many remaining questions about the gilding techniques. If you want to dive deeper in the gilding, I will have more time to share the techniques during The Glittering Vine at the Legacies III Virtual conference. I have had lots of requests for private students as well who would like a single session tutorial that dives deeper into gilding. If you are interested in this please email me at heather@heathervictoriaheld.com and we can go from there. My full teaching schedule is also available by emailing me. There are lots of small guild classes coming as well as a new illumination class on the way! This July, I will be teaching The Artful Flourish through The Gentle Penman online.  This is my foundational class in true offhand flourishing. Other than our pencil warm up, we will not use the pencil at all. The offhand flourish is the direct result of thinking on paper. The flourishes evolve and grow as your hand refines skills. This is the easiest of all pointed pen skills to learn as well as being peaceful and meditative. 

The world of flourishing opens up so many skills to the calligrapher. I seldom let a day go by without putting a little flourish on the paper.  The wisdom behind Study, Practice, Reflect comes through in this course. 

I will  continue to catch up on commission work and pen orders this summer so I will be in the studio a lot. I look forward to hearing from you and I am only ever an email away if you have a question or want to show me more of your gorgeous garden florals. Whatever you are choosing to do over the summer, I hope you find joy and peace in the pursuit.

 Take time for yourself. Observe the delights in nature as they come to you. Pick up the pen and play! Sending hugs all around. Thank you for your friendship, encouragement and support. May you Flourish!

Legacies III Virtual Calligraphy Conference

 I hope you are all having a beautiful May so far. Here in Ontario, the weather is still a bit unstable. It can be rainy and quite cold followed by beautiful warmth. I just take each day as it comes and I am grateful for the hidden joys that I can find. Wherever you are in the world and whatever your situation, I am sending hugs and strength your way. I know this time continues to be challenging for so many of us. You really are in my thoughts and I know that we will get through this. As I continue to work from home I have been preparing for more online courses. Please email me at heather@heathervictoriaheld.com if you would like my teaching schedule. I continue to work one on one with private students but I have also been teaching larger classes through Zoom. The Legacies Virtual Calligraphy conference is up and running and I have two one day courses listed. I will be offering Victorian Frames and Labels and The Glittering Vine. Both of these courses are focused on letting me dive deeply in to subject specific areas for the duration of the course. If you took my Notes for the New Year class through the European Pointed Pen Collective you will see a familiar thread in The Victorian Frames and Labels course as I focus on the pen etching technique.  However, as I have continued to study Victorian scraps I am able to take these frames and labels to a different level. I will have fun letting my inner Victorian have full reign in this class. I think what is most fun for me in both of these courses is that we can concentrate on pure decoration and ignore lettering for a little while. I know that might sound scandalous, but sometimes you might not have anything at all to say. Decorative flourishing always saves the day when words can't be found. 

The Glittering Vine combines my love of illuminated manuscripts with a softer palette of colours. I am hoping that those who have been nervous about gilding will find that it is much easier to use than they might have thought.

It adds a shine and brilliance to your work and is a great way to elevate your skills. Once again, the inner Victorian in me will be at work but there is definitely a Medieval and Renaissance feel in these borders.

When I do these special focus courses, I hope that the students can complete a project in class that does not require any lettering. When they leave the class and work with the handouts, my hope is that the skills acquired can augment any lettering style that they choose.  Both of these courses are peaceful and relaxing and I hope theywill bring you a sense of joy and accomplishment. I know that many of you have taken so many courses and might be taking a pause from online content. I totally understand! Do what is best for you in these strange times. From here in Ontario, in another lockdown, I want to encourage you all to continue to do what you love and what brings you joy! Continue to believe that better times are coming and we are one day closer to getting through this. Thank you all for your friendship and support. It means so much to me. I hope to see you in person soon!

Golden Thoughts For May

 Yesterday I learned that dear Michael Ackerson had passed away after his battle with cancer. Michael was a friend I met through IAMPETH. He worked tirelessly at each conference for John Neal Books. I only saw him during conferences but whenever I ordered supplies through John Neal, I would do so by conversing directly with Michael. His warm voice, his laughter and his gentle personality will be so missed. I will never forget him and I am so grateful to have known him. If anyone ever bought one of the dot cards of my favourite Daniel Smith watercolours through John Neal, it was Michael who put those together for us. Even though the note I mailed on April 29th will not be seen by him, it was good for my heart to get some thoughts on paper. 

Every project, written note or flourished image we work on has a bit of our heart and soul in it. I am so grateful for the peace and solace that comes with working with the pen. I am also so thankful for the people we meet in every part of our journey as calligraphic artists. As I prepare for the launch of a few new courses this Summer and Fall, I have had to invest in some refill supplies.  I am also getting lots of questions about the  gilding supplies for The Enchanted Letter which will be presented later this month through The Gentle Penman. This course does use gold leaf. There are so many students new to the world of gilding and are nervous about trying it out. When I teach The Enchanted Letter, one of my goals is to open the world of gilding to people who have not been exposed to it before. I use a contemporary method in this class which is so easy to learn and will start you off in the world of gilding and I hope you never stop exploring that world.
Several students have requested small kits of gilding supplies. Jerry Tresser has put together a small sample kit of the 23K transfer gold leaf  and some of his gilding size which works well for flat gilding. I have been using Jerry's 23K gold leaf for several years and it has a brilliance and shine to it that I prefer to all other golds. The kit is now on his website. I gild almost every day in my studio and go through several full books of gold leaf each year. Once you start gilding, you will find constant opportunities for it. Brian Walker was one of the first ones who encouraged me to gild even if I just put a tiny hint of it here and there. 

I don't want the gold leaf to be a barrier for anyone who is taking the Enchanted Letter course.  If you just want to watch the gilding technique as I demonstrate, you can also use gold watercolour, ink or gouache to add a touch of sparkle to your letters. The gold watercolour that I use is predominantly Schmicke Gold Pan watercolour. This small gold pan will last you for years to come and it has a wonderful luminous quality to it. John Neal currently has it on sale on his website. Paper Ink Arts also supplies it along with the silver pan.

I use very small brushes in my work. I love the Isabey 6229 brushes but they are sable brushes and many students do not want to use animal products. I am trying to find brushes to replace the Isabey brushes and really like the Rosemary and Co series 307 brushes. My technique needs to be adjusted a bit to use these brushes but I am finding them quite useful. Rosemary and Co is a wonderful website for finding the perfect brush. You can request a catalogue from them which makes it much easier to find the brush you are looking for. As I continue to work through the Anniversary Year of Enchanted Letters I am enjoying experimenting with different techniques. This Initial I with foliate extension was gilded with Silver Leaf. That is a bit of a different experience than gold leaf but I loved how it worked with blues and greens. The initial was painted with a limited palette of Daniel Smith Verditer Blue, Payne's Grey and Perylene Green. I think I also mixed a bit of Holbein Shadow Green with leaves.

 I wanted this post to shed some insight on the supplies I use. I am so thankful for all of these suppliers who keep us stocked with what we need. I am happy to support them as they keep us working on what we love to do. I also did a blog post for Offhand Flourishing through Ken Bromley Art Supplies in the UK which you can find here.  I will have updates shortly on the new courses that are coming! In the meantime, I hope you find joy, peace and comfort as you create your own works of heart this month. I am still locked down in Ontario and sending hugs out to all those around the world that are going through this as well. We will get through it!!! Keep playing with the pen and encourage those around you. 

H is For Hope

 Sending hugs out to my fellow Ontario friends. It seems we keep watching things get worse. Let's hang on to Hope a little longer. We can get through this!! I am grateful right now for a quiet studio and I am keeping myself busy as I work on the 10th Anniversary edition of the Enchanted Letter which will be presented in May through The Gentle Penman. If you want to try your hand at this skill it really is a joyful journey!

If you have taken any of my courses in the past, one of the key I areas I like to share with my students is the peaceful and engaging process of creating any art work. The ability to shut out the outside world and truly get lost in the creative details is such a gift. From the soft sounds that the pencil creates on the paper to the intricate details of adding gold leaf, the act of really engaging with your work brings a sense of calm and peace. This seems more important now than ever!

When I take time to work on the ink etched designs, that same sense of peace engulfs the entire process. By using only one colour I eliminate some of the complex choices that I face in each piece of work. Something as simple as this can help break down creative barriers when you work at your desk. Indulging my inner Victorian brings joy as well. I have found myself using a lot of blue colours lately. This piece was etched with Indigo blue.

Right now, I am so grateful that I have been able to stay connected to friends, family and students through the computer. I have never been a fan of screens but I recognize just how much they have helped keep me at work these past months. I am grateful for those of you who have sent me emails, photos of garden flowers and notes in the mail. Hang on to Hope dear friends. Find joy with pen, ink, pencil and paint. Create your works of art and engage in the process. Love to you all! We will get through this!

These Sacred Tasks

I had a brisk walk today and noticed a few snowflakes but the calendar assures me it is April. Thankfully the studio is warm and there are signs of Spring in the garden. It looks like we are entering another month of lockdown here in Ontario. I won't be far from my desk or garden for the foreseeable future.  Sometimes  it just feels so overwhelming and surreal which can make working at the desk a bit difficult. I have so many beautiful commissions to work on as well as a very special design for my daughter. Pointed pen work can easily pick up any hints of stress or uncertainty in your hands but sometimes the surrounding world can affect every part of your process. I am usually so methodical about my design process. I like to keep all of my sketches in a journal where I can refer back to them and allow them to springboard other ideas. But this past week, adherence to a journal sketch seemed like another hurdle I needed to overcome. When I find myself a bit stifled at the beginning of a project, I take some time out to tidy the studio. Clearing the desks often helps to clear my mind.  One of my designs this week was a monogram utilizing an H and S. Enchanted Letters are usually the easiest to work with for me as script letters merge so beautifully. I consulted my library and pulled some books to see how the initials were handled historically. 

I have several books on my shelves dealing with monograms so there was lots to observe before I started to work. 

 Monogram designs are like little puzzles to work through. I don't consider myself to be a very analytical person so I usually just dive into pencil sketches and see what happens. During my studio tidy, I found several pieces of Maruman Imagination paper that I had torn from the pad for online demos. As I shift papers all over the studio, this wonderful paper can get lost in the shuffle. Despite a few ink stains, the paper served the wonderful purpose of catching my thinking on paper. Once the pencil starts to hit the page, my mind starts to really engage with the task at hand. 

Maruman Imagination paper is my favourite practice paper because the grid lines are such a gentle colour. The grid never impedes my vision and the paper is very smooth and easy to work on.Whether I am flourishing, writing or drawing, I try to use tools that make the process easier for me rather than cause a barrier to the work. The sketch process usually helps solidify my design but when I get to the inking stage, I depart from pencil and freely flourish the ornamental elements in the letters. 

Once I get the design on paper and inked, the rest of the design is my usual process of gilding and then painting. Despite my shaky start for the design, as soon as my mind engages with the process, the joy of working on this sacred task really takes over. The work is for a special client and a very special occasion. Although I have a large list of tasks to accomplish this month in the studio, at the moment, nothing is more important than this design. I utilized methods that take a bit more time with this particular design. I brought more than one sketch to completion. I used  my own gesso recipe rather than a commercial gilding size and I finished the design with shell gold I had made myself rather than Schmicke gold or Fine Tec. 

 I often tell my students that calligraphers are entrusted with such sacred tasks. What we do matters to our clients. The process of creating can be daunting at the best of times so when outside influences encroach on your thinking patterns and your process, cut yourself some slack and wait until your mind can engage with the project in a peaceful way. The desk/studio tidy strategy works really well for me but what if it doesn't? Sometimes I relax with a cup of tea as I sit in front of the bookshelves and just glance through the material there. Other times, I take a walk or a drive. Sometimes, getting your head out of a task is just as important as working on the task at hand. Whatever sacred tasks you are faced with this April, I want you to know that I feel grateful for your company and friendship. I know it has been difficult, if not impossible to meet in person, but I feel like I have connected with so many of you through tea time online, notes in the mail, emails, phone calls and texts. I will be working hard on my 10th Anniversary edition of my notes for The Enchanted Letter coming up in May so this might be my only post for a few weeks.  As we work at our desks this month, let's keep believing and hoping for brighter days ahead. Sending hugs all around. I am so grateful for your friendship!

Finding a path...

 Here we are right about in the middle of March. The snow has melted but this Saturday morning is quite cool. Spring will be here shortly and I will be spending more time outdoors. This morning I bought some beautiful roses and carnations for my desk. It seems that I have grown quite dependent on bringing bright flowers into the studio. It is good for the soul!!!

 Life has been busy here in the winter with so much teaching. I have enjoyed every minute of it and have had the joy of creating new courses for students. What a delight. I will be announcing new courses shortly for private students as well as some group online classes.My pen, pencil and brushes have been given quite a work out lately.  As I continue to create content and hone courses of study for individual students I have been reflecting on some of my own experiences. I have taken several large format online courses, some pre-recorded courses and some that were open to only a few at a time. All of them have their good points and bad points. One thing that I found so inspiring in a very small format class was feeling part of a group of people and seeing what work they created week to week. The care that these individuals put into their projects was so inspiring to see and there was so much respect for their efforts and interpretation of the assignment. I do sense levels of discomfort as students are asked to share their work. Sometimes that is such a hurdle to overcome or endure. Taking these various online courses can be a great way to expand your skills at a more reasonable price than private instruction or the eventual return of in person instruction. But as I have explored various methods of study over this past year, I recognize that there is not a one size fits all method for each student. There are multiple paths and so many ways to navigate in this creative life.  Let me offer a few thoughts here for those of you who have written and feel like they have met with a bit of a plateau. 

I hope you realize first and foremost that you are unique and one of a kind. You come with your own default thinking patterns, visualization processes, likes and dislikes. You are you! And that is something that will never change! Your vision, voice and ideas will have an expression that only you can give. My biggest encouragement I can give you is to follow the paths that spark a sense of joy and delight in you. Most of my learning and advancement in skills has come from going down rabbit holes that seemingly make no sense. I will spend days looking at illuminated mansucripts, or the manuscripts of writing masters looking for some spark or detail that sends me down another rabbit hole.Sometimes I need to just walk in nature and the curve of pinecone or branch can be enough to send me to my desk with a spark of an idea Hone the skill of observation and study the things that you want to excel at. Self study, self care and independent research is the backbone of personal artistic growth. I can't recommend this highly enough and I hope this maybe alleviates some pressure of thinking you have to check of a list of courses to study before you can get anywhere. 

I also encourage you to remain true to your vision and ideas. One of my greatest inspirations is  seeing the work of Kate Greenaway. She was often told to abandon her vision and ideas of illustration children and simple florals in pastoral landscapes. She heard this over and over and still created what she wanted to create. Her story never fails to inspire me. 

Taking a cue from Kate Greenaway means that sometimes I know that when I sit at my desk, I am not going to create something huge and magnificent. That day or hour I might just need to paint a flower or write a note to a friend. Kate wrote letters as part of her daily routine. I know it is part of a bygone era but many times getting a note into the mail to a friend is food for your soul as well as theirs. 

Finally, remember to take breaks. We are all carrying large workloads, juggling tasks, dealing with physical limitations and we have been navigating a very trying year. Even though our activities have been greatly reduced we still need to respect the needs of our body and spirit. You might need a mini retreat even within the confines of your own home. Maybe you need to schedule a beautiful cup of tea in your favourite tea cup and just breathe without any pressure for awhile. Stepping back and taking a breath is enlightened self interest. Don't think of it as falling behind on anything. Think of it as part of a natural rhythm in this artistic journey. 

 We are starting to circle another Season and in your corner of the world I hope you are taking good care of yourselves and finding moments of solace, joy and peace. I am cheering you on as you step back to breathe or if you sitting at your desk immersed in a huge project. You will find the path that makes your soul sing. Hugs all around!!